A Little More Damage Control
by Seersha
Summary: Angel still has one more person to apologise to. Season 2, after the episode "Epiphany". Faith/Angel friendship.


**TITLE:** A Little More Damage Control

**AUTHOR:** Seersha

**RATING:** K+

**PAIRING:** Faith/Angel (friendship only)

**SPOILERS:** Season 2

**DISTRIBUTION:** Please do not archive anywhere. It will be up at FF if you would like to link to it.

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters (obviously) and no copyright infringement is intended. No profit is made from this fanfiction.

**TIMELINE: **Season 2, after the episode "Epiphany".

**SUMMARY:** Angel still has one more person to apologise to.

**NOTE:** Originally published March 2001.

.-.-.

She was surprised when the security guard told her she had a visitor. She hadn't been expecting anyone and it had been a while since anyone had visited her here. Although, in all her time in jail - and it had been almost a whole year now - she'd only ever had one person visit her. So when Faith heard the news, she instinctively knew who it was. Angel.

((Peace is not an easy thing to find. She has a chance...))

As she walked behind the guard to the visiting booths, she wondered what he would say to her. His regular visits and letters had stopped a while back, and after almost three weeks of no contact from him, Faith had begun to worry. She knew Angel well enough now to know that he wouldn't abandon her like everyone else in her life had. No, Angel was for real. That knowledge, however, made her very curious as to what had happened to him lately. She hoped he was alright.

((You all right in there? It was touch and go for the four minutes you left me alone, but somehow I got through it...))

The moment Faith set eyes on Angel, she felt a sense of relief wash over her, though she had no idea why.

He waited patiently until she was seated in front of him on the other side of the glass before he picked up the phone. Once Faith herself picked up the phone and held it to her ear, a short silence - a wordless connection - passed between them.

((The road to redemption is a rocky path. That it is. Think we might make it? We might.))

Angel took a deep breath. "Hey," he said nervously, as if he was afraid she wouldn't want to talk to him at all.

"Hey," she replied, happy to see him.

"How are you?" he asked.

She shrugged, eyeing him. "Maybe I should be asking you that question first."

He sighed reluctantly. "I'm sorry," he told her. "I know it's been a while. I was... going through some stuff."

"What stuff?" Faith asked, genuinely concerned.

"Wolfram and Hart stuff," he said vaguely. "I lost my focus for a while and I forgot what my mission really was." He paused and locked eyes with Faith. "To help lost souls."

((And here I am talking about my petty, little problems...))

She blinked, smiling ever so slightly, grateful for the way Angel made her feel like she belonged in the world... like she meant something to someone. Or, she thought, more accurately, that they meant something to each other. They needed each other.

"I'm not as lost as I used to be," she corrected, hoping he would draw strength from what she was truly telling him: that he had helped her and believed in her more than anyone else ever had... and for that, she was thankful.

He smiled slightly. "Me either," he told her softly, barely above a whisper.

Another pause let them take a moment to draw upon each other's strength, something they both needed now and then. For Faith in particular, that's what made these visits so important. She felt like she needed Angel to survive. She needed the knowledge that she wasn't alone... that he was out there in the world, getting through each day, just like she was.

((I'm not gonna make it through the next ten minutes. So make it through the next five... the next minute...))

"I'm better now that you're here," she admitted, breaking the silence. "I was really worried something bad had happened to you. It was even tempting to break out and come rescue you," she said, only as a half joke.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "Thank you... for caring."

"No. Thank you," she said.

He chuckled nervously, looking down for a second, still unused to the devotion of trust Faith gave him. Sometimes he wondered if he truly deserved it.

"So... how are you?" he repeated the question from earlier.

"Well, things seem to get a little easier each day," she told him.

"Maybe you just get stronger each day," he said.

Faith smiled softly. "Maybe."

((All that pain... all that suffering you caused is coming back on you. Feel it. Deal with it. Then maybe you got a shot at being free...))

Angel glanced around him a second, as if he was afraid people would hear, then asked, "How's the food?"

Faith laughed and Angel's mouth broadened into a boyish grin.

"Somehow I knew that question was comin'," she chuckled. "It seems to be the one question that makes it into every one of our conversations." She paused. "The food's still the same. Although, I've made a good friend who sneaks me a chocolate bar every now and then. Her grandmother sends them to her. Makes a nice change."

"I'm sure it does," he agreed. "The only change my diet undergoes is from negative to positive every once in a while."

((God, it hurts. I hate that it hurts like this...))

They enjoyed a short time of light humour, the conversation trivial, but somehow important, before the security guard informed them they had only another five minutes of time left.

Faith turned serious eyes on Angel. "You gonna drop by again soon?"

He looked deeply into the girl's eyes. He could see hope in them, and a hint of desperation. "No. I'll drop by tomorrow," he replied.

She smiled in relief. "Okay."

"Bye," he said, hoping she knew how much he wanted to stay a little longer.

"See you tomorrow," she finished, as they hung up their speaker phones.

He paused one last time, communicating a silent message to her, one she already knew; "I'm not going to let you down."

As she watched him leave, Faith felt glad for the one small blessing she had: no matter what, she could always count on at least one person.

((Help me. Yeah...))

.-.-.

END


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